Here to Stay
by Trinity23Rose
Summary: Inspired by 1x15. Caitlin needs to make a decision which man she wants to be a part of her future.


Inspired by 1x15. Caitlin needs to make a decision which man she wants to be a part of her future.

* * *

If someone two years ago had told her that she would end up here, having to actually _choose_ and feel conflicted about it, she would've laughed straight into their faces.

It was proof enough that one could never truly foresee what their future would look like, who would be there and most importantly, where one's feelings would be located. Or maybe with _whom_.

Yes, there was conflict, but the choice wasn't hard because she didn't know what she felt. She actually did. Once she listened to her heart, she knew there was only one way this could go, only one man she could be truly happy with. The conflict was with her strong sense of morality. In order to be happy she had to break somebody's heart and that someone was actually the man who was sure she would stay with him. The one who was afraid she would leave was the one she truly wanted to be with no matter what and no matter what the cost or the public opinion.

Because in the end, her choice wouldn't be popular, but to her it was the right one.

It was late when she finally came back to the Labs, somehow knowing he'd still be there, not so eager to get back home and rather stay in this building, surrounded by his life work and not the emptiness of his house. He seemed to know she wouldn't be waiting for him there anyway.

Well, he was wrong.

Or maybe not – because she was _here_ now.

She made her way to his office, walking right past the entrance to the cortex, her heels echoing in the corridor, the sound only adding up to the eerie atmosphere. She remembered how she'd always been at awe with the Labs after hours, how when everyone went home, it became so quiet, so enormous and so empty, a complete opposite to the building always vibrant with life and laughter and people in a hurry. She'd usually been the one pulling long hours, loving the peace and quiet that always stimulated her brain, causing her to do more work during that time than during the day. He'd used to stay there as well, sometimes dropping by and helping her with some particular problem. She loved working alone, but there was just something about him and his collaboration that made her welcome him in her office, always eager to hear what he had to say and how he could contribute.

Yes, Harrison Wells always had a way of stimulating her brain in ways no one else could, but if she were to be honest – and right now she was all about blatant honesty – also her body.

He did seem surprised when she finally stopped by his door and knocked briefly before making her way in, catching a glimpse of his depressed expression before he saw who just came in and forced a smile onto his face.

"Caitlin!" he called out to her, the joy reflected in his pupils clearly faked since if she were to look deep enough, she would spot sadness and heartache buried there. Well, not for long, she thought. Not for long. "You came to say goodbye?" he asked, doing his best to sound all normal, but she knew him all too well. His voice was a little off.

"No," she told him, closing the door behind her. "I am here to stay, Harrison."

There was a sudden and very heavy silence as he was watching her intently, digesting those words he just heard and then gasping as the meaning hit him full on.

That was truly all she needed and she moved purposefully towards him, desperate to just be with him already.

"But… Ronnie… You… You love him," Wells stammered, shocked when she unceremoniously sat straight in his laps, placing her arms around his neck and closing his lips with a kiss.

"Do you really think those last few months during which we were together meant nothing to me? Harrison, you were always so much more to me and now… when we finally got together… you became _everything_."

"But he came back to you," he still said and she pulled away a little to look him in the eye. The eyes she loved so, so much.

"Yes, he did. But I am not the same Caitlin who was with him. And he isn't the same Ronnie either. We've both changed and now it turns out that I already moved on. I can't just get back to what was, Harrison. I have to be honest with my heart and _this_ is what it wants." She placed her hand on his chest, feeling his own heart beating hard.

"I probably should tell you that Raymond is so much better for you, but I'm not that selfless, Caitlin Snow. All I want right now is _you_."

"I love you," she confessed, tears already welling up in her eyes, her voice changed.

"I love you, too."

And then she kissed him again like there was no tomorrow.

Only for them there was every tomorrow. Once you figured out what it was that your heart really wanted, there was nothing stopping you from taking it and never letting it go, Caitlin thought, feeling that she was in the right place and in the arms of just the right man.


End file.
